


Six Letters from Pegasus

by Mira



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-08
Updated: 2011-03-08
Packaged: 2017-10-16 19:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/168575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mira/pseuds/Mira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six snippets that were intended to be part of a larger story (that story became <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/161303">Chosen One</a>) but turned out to be just pre-writing, not part of the story. So here they are, in isolation, letters to home about death and dying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Six Letters from Pegasus

_Discovered by Mr. and Mrs. James Markham among their son's belongings delivered by Captain Samuel Nicholas, USMC_

Dear Mom & Dad sorry I left like that the Marines took me in alright and I worked real hard, straightened out. I ended up part of MAGTF working with USAF turns out I can fly! Ha. Bet you never thought that. But you got this letter so I want to say sorry again and sorry I did'nt write but I was stationed where mail was hard. I love you both and want you to be proud of me. The CAO won't know anything and he'll say I died doing my duty but I hope you believe me.  
your loving son,  
Joseph James Markham, Staff Sergeant, USMC

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. William Ford  
P. O. Box 10  
Whigham, Georgia 31797

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ford:

I wanted you to know how much I personally regret the loss of your grandson Lieutenant Aiden Ford. The entire base joins me in sending our deepest sympathies.

Aiden was a fine young man. We worked closely and I came to rely on him in our remote station. He was very active in the community, particularly in the church and physical fitness. He was also our best marksman and trained others. Though our deployment was difficult due to our remote location, he promoted teamwork and positive motivation. I will always remember his smile.

Please know that we share in your pain and sorrow and pay our final respects to one of our best men. Aiden is missed by all of us.

JOHN P. SHEPPARD, Major, USAF  
Commander

* * *

 _Delivered by Major Iain Bruce,  
Casualty Assistance Officer, 3 SCOTS_

Darling Mum, I can barely see the paper to write you. It was so difficult to say goodbye to you and everyone, but I'm not sorry. Mum, you're the best mum a boy could want, and you and Da taught me so much. Oh Mum, know I love you, and please tell Danny to stop fooling around and to settle down with that nice Norah and move back home.

I have to stop. I love you. Have a dram now, no matter what time of the day, and raise the glass not to me but for me -- and I raise the glass to you and everyone.  
love always,  
Carson

* * *

Provident Bank, Georgetown Branch  
1055 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW  
Washington, DC 20007  
Found in Safe Deposit Box 202, along with Last Will and Testament and Statutory Power of Attorney forms

Dear Mom: I am so sorry that you must read this letter. I hope you know how much I love you, and miss you. After Simon, I thought we might end up roommates, walking Sedge, going to the theatre, reminiscing.

I'm sorry not to be there for you. You were good and brave about saying goodbye to me, so you knew this might happen. I'm sure your experiences with Dad's Navy career prepared you in some ways for this, but I also know you wanted me to remain in Georgetown and teach.

I'm not sorry, though, that I said yes to this adventure. You taught me that, you know -- to say yes. You always said that I could do anything, and oh Mom, the things I've done and seen. The universe is bigger and stranger than I ever imagined, and I've done good work. I'm proud of what I've done, and I really want you to be proud of me.

I love you. You are a wonderful mother, the most inspiring and fun of all the mothers I know. All my friends envied me having you, and I'm so grateful to you.

I don't know why you had to read this letter, of course, but whatever happened, please know this: I was doing work I loved and took enormous pride in. If I could do it all over again, I would.

All my love,  
your loving daughter Elizabeth

* * *

My dear mother and beloved aunts: Please know how much I miss you and my friends. You are all always in my thoughts, even though I have not communicated with you recently. Forgive me. The news is somber.

My respected reigna'pod: I trust you will forgive me for combining my report to you with my communication to my family. What I have to say will be of interest to you, I believe.

I am alone on this world. Our eldest sister has gone and my little pilot fish tell me that she is beyond my reach. You remember that nearly two cycles had elapsed before we located them here, and when I finally arrived I did not make contact. Instead, I studied this world and its inhabitants. I had just decided that it was time to make myself known to our eldest sister when she abruptly left. I do not think she ever realized I had followed her here.

The pilot fish followed as best they could but she traveled through many stargates in great rapidity. They report that she did not behaved as she had during the last flight; this concerns me.

My family, my reigna'pod: with your permission I would like to wait here for her return. Our history tells us that our eldest sister has made these abrupt moves before yet returns home. I chose to believe she will do so again.

I have made a few friends among the indigenous people of this world, and of course I have the little pilot fish for company, although they can be annoying. I beg you not to call me home, at least, not just yet.

I miss you all very much. I miss my friends. I miss the tastes and scents of my home. But I also miss our eldest sister. I have never know a life without her quiet presence. I will wait here for her, like her own pilot fish, to guide her home again.

your loving and obedient child,  
Cetus

* * *

Dear Mr. and Mr. Evans-Tepi: I know you have already learned the terrible news about Emily's death. I was a colleague of hers, though not in the same department. We are a small group of scientists in a distant and dangerous posting, so we all get to know each other well.

Please excuse me; English is not my first language, and I liked your daughter very much so this is a difficult letter to write. She was a good friend to many of us. She had a sense of humor I especially enjoyed, not least because she was a good mimic.

I am writing to let you know that I and many others miss Emily. I can't tell you where we are, but I can tell you that some of the native people here were also very fond of Emily. When they learned of her death, they created a beautiful memorial for her. They call it Emily's Meadow, and that is what it is: a large meadow not far from their village. They have created a living fence of a flowering shrub and have seeded the meadow so it will be in flower for most of the year. Already it is very beautiful.

I know this can in no way make up for the loss of your daughter. But please know that there are many of us who miss her, and that there will always be an Emily's Meadow.

She loved you both very much and used to tell us stories about you. I will only mention the Grateful Dead Halloween story. That one used to make us cry with laughter. Now of course we just cry.

Thank you for sharing Emily with us for a little while. Attached is a photo I took of Emily's Meadow.

Sincerely,  
Radek Zelenka, writing for Augustin Schwartz, Leo Parrish, Lisa Kiang, Miko Kusanagi, Linda Simpson, Sophie Ngo of the Physics and Biology Departments


End file.
